Make the NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet batteries available for sale on the BN website

Remember when batteries were replaceable? Now you'd be lucky to find a tech product that didn't require a rocket scientist to replace the battery, that is if you can purchase a new battery to replace the old [or the battery is not soldered in].

Which is the problem with the NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet.

The physical life of tech products, and the ability to change batteries in products like mobile phones, tablets, eReaders or mp3 players [and now laptops], is much shorter compared to those tech products we bought years ago. Tech product manufacturers are producing disposable products - paper weights. Granted, batteries last longer now, but they never outlast the physical life of the product. With a replaceable, rechargeable batteries, you might get dozens of years out of a quality tech device. That is, if you can get a battery and the manufacturer did encase it in a vault.

Why? Its a marketing scheme which makes the NOOK Tablet, and all other battery powered tech products, the Real Slim Shady. But don't take it personal, it not about you - its all about them - its just business.

Barnes & Noble [and all other tech product manufacturers] don't want you to use their tech product(s) for 5, 10 or even 15 years, which is why the battery in a NOOK Tablet [and NOOK Color] will surely not last 10 years [the battery is said to have only 300-800 cycles]. Barnes & Noble wants you to buy a new $250 NOOK Tablet in 3 years or less. Which is why most tech products are not supported [software updates, etc] after a few years. The ONLY reason they get away with it is the gluttonous consumer. We the consumer have been conditioned in a way that ensures we will keep buying expensive tech products and toss them in the trash in 2-3 years [how environmentally unfriendly is that].

In a time of inflation, stagnant wages and no jobs, corporations like Barnes & Noble continue to manufacture and market disposable tech products. You have to ask yourself, who is it they are marketing their products to?

To make matters worse, the Q&A on the Barnes & Noble website is confusing. The answer to the question, "Can the battery of the tablet be replaced?" The answer is, "No. The rechargeable battery in your NOOK can only be accessed and replaced by authorized service professionals." Authorized service professionals? The understanding I had when I spent $250 on the NOOK Tablet was just that, the battery could be replaced and I might have to take it to a local computer shop to have it replaced. Which, I thought, meant that I could purchase a battery. However, "Bob Weathers," Digital representative at NOOK chat told me that, "The batteries of the Tablet device are not replaced. We have to replace the device itself." Sounds great, right? Not so fast! If Barnes & Noble replaces your NOOK Tablet you will most likely receive a recertified/refurbished tablet that may or may not contain a new battery. And at what cost to the consumer? Bob went on to say that "I am sorry for that but the device is designed in a way that we cannot take the battery out and replace it." Ay, there's the rub! Barnes & Nobles makes paper weights.

Fact is, the battery in the NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet is replaceable. iFixit.com has a complete step-by-step tear down on their website. Barnes & Noble however does not sell batteries for NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet, as they had for the original NOOK. When your warranty expires, Barns & Noble wants you to buy a new $250 NOOK Tablet - don't replace the battery, replace the tablet.

Tell Barnes & Noble that you want the option of buying and replacing the battery in your NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet by making the battery available for sale on the Barnes & Noble website.

The physical life of tech products, and the ability to change batteries in products like mobile phones, tablets, eReaders or mp3 players [and now laptops], is much shorter compared to those tech products we bought years ago. Tech product manufacturers are producing disposable products - paper weights. Granted, batteries last longer now, but they never outlast the physical life of the product. With a replaceable, rechargeable batteries, you might get dozens of years out of a quality tech device. That is, if you can get a battery and the manufacturer did encase it in a vault.

In a time of inflation, stagnant wages and no jobs, corporations like Barnes & Noble continue to manufacture and market disposable tech products. You have to ask yourself, who is it they are marketing their products to?

Fact is, the battery in the NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet is replaceable. iFixit.com has a complete step-by-step tear down on their website. Barnes & Noble however does not sell batteries for NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet, as they had for the original NOOK.

I want the option of buying and replacing the battery in my NOOK Color/NOOK Tablet. Please make the battery available for sale on the Barnes & Noble website.